Feng Jie the Wind Spirit
by The Coyote
Summary: Zuko and Iroh must cross the desert to reach Ba Sing Sei, but they cannot do it alone. Short Story. Pre-third season! Full summary inside. Rated for very slight language and smooching. COMPLETE!
1. Feng Jie the Wind Spirit

Summary: To get to Ba Sing Sei, Zuko must cross the expansive desert, but it is impossible to walk across it and survive. The sandbenders are their enemies, and they have no way to fly… Wait. Uncle Iroh tells his nephew of a wind spirit, living in a cave on the edge of the desert. The wind spirit Feng Jie, however, is weak, having been banished from the spirit world by the other spirits. If Zuko could somehow bring the spirit some power back, perhaps she would help them cross the desert.

A/N: This story I wrote maybe... oh, two years ago... Wow, that sounds longer when I put it in print. Like most things, sadly, I lost ferver in writing, and stopped, and the story never got finished. I would like to attempt to finish this story. However, for people returning who have read this story before, I will be editing every chapter to fix any mistakes and update everything to my style and current liking. I should also give a bit of a more practical setting, since this is DEFINATELY pre-third season. I started this story right after the Gaang lost Appa, and you see Zuko and Iroh being smuggled out of the desert village inside pots. Well, I had thought that was irresistably LAME, so I came up with my own story about how they crossed the desert to get to the big city of Ba Sing Sei. So, to sum it up, Zuko and Iroh are still close, Azula has yet to conquer Ba Sing Sei, and Zuko's lustrous hair is still kind of short...

The desert's hot sun was setting, and its fading rays danced across the horizon and played with desert sand storms. The temperature started to drop rapidly, and as the two figures moved through the sands, the cold followed them, teasing their cloaks to be wrapped around tighter, for their hands to be covered, for cloth to cover their faces.

"Uncle, are you sure that this beast can help us?" Zuko's golden eyes looked to the sand, concentrating on moving forward.

"She is not a beast, Zuko, but a spirit. And yes, I believe that Feng Jie will help us if we help her." Iroh had once met the same spirit, and still the memory haunted him. But he had seen the need in her eyes, and this spirit will help them... for a price.

Iroh looked north, and he saw the small cave. It was small, and very decrepit. It no longer resembled a cave, but a hole in the ground. Sand had blown around the entrance, and the red stone had eroded. It was no longer as resplendent as it once was. Two dragon statues stood at the entrance, guarding their mistress, but one had toppled over, and its eerie stone grin was buried in the sand. The other was covered in dry, brown brambles.

Zuko looked at the sad scene with disdain, but he turned to the cave entrance, where stairs curved downward into darkness.

"Are you really sure, Uncle?" he asked once more, looking downward warily.

"Stop asking that, Zuko, and come on. She know's we're here already."

Iroh was already heading down the stairs, one hand lifted above his head with a tongue of flame resting in his palm. Zuko quickly followed, keeping close to his uncle.

As they went down, the dusty dryness of the desert disappeared, and the cave was wonderfully cool and damp. The stairs were old, but rough enough so that they were not slippery. Zuko found that he could breath easily, and that the silence, followed by the occasional drip of water, was very relaxing and peaceful.

They seemed to descend for hours, when finally the staircase widened from its narrowed state, and it became an underground cave. But, it was not just any stinking, bat's cave. The ceiling reached to the heavens, being more than a hundred feet high. The walls and ceiling were painted with glowing dyes, depicting images of the blue sky, birds, trees, and two dragons frolicking in the clouds.

"It's… beautiful," whispered Zuko, unable to hide his awe.

"Very," agreed Iroh, who had, once before, visited the cave, but never tired of seeing the paintings. The detail was so exquisite and breathtaking, any artist would bow to the creator of this work.

"I am glad you like them, Iroh, son of Xi Tei, and guest." The voice pierced through the gloom, echoing against the walls and shimmering through the still air. Zuko jumped, looking everywhere for the source of that beautiful, yet horribly sad voice. In the relief that the shadows made from Iroh's fire, he couldn't see anything that resembled a person.

"I'm glad you remember me, Feng Jie. It's been almost forty years since my last visit."

Zuko looked to his Uncle, who was peering into one very dark corner of the cave. Squinting his topaz eyes, Zuko was able to make a throne cut out of the stone, and a figure that he had mistaken as a shadow moved slightly.

"Indeed it has. Who is this that you bring in before me? Why have you come back?"

Zuko would never have admitted it to his Uncle, but that voice and its lonely echoes pulled at his heart strings, and he felt as if there was no hope on reaching the Imperial City. That's what it was saying. No hope. No hope. No hope.

"I have another favor to ask of you, Feng Jie." Zuko was awoken from his painful reverie to hear his uncle respond to the creature. He could here a depressing note in his uncle's voice too. So, he was affected as well.

"Tell me what you wish, Iroh." The creature shuffled on its throne, and Zuko stepped closer, hoping to get a better look.

"Me and my nephew need to cross the desert to the city of Ba Sing Sei. We were hoping to have a winged escort to --"

"Silence!" rasped Feng Jie, and she moved forward, slightly. Zuko tried to see her, but it was too dark.

"You know I cannot help you! You know what has happened to me, why I cannot go to the surface! You expect me to fly you across the desert in my current state! Leave me, Iroh and nephew, I cannot, will not help you!"

Zuko couldn't believe his ears! All this way they had traveled, but only to be rejected by a spirit he couldn't even see!

"You will help us!" he yelled, staring blindly ahead. His eyes narrwoed to slits in hopes of seeing this creature, but still no luck.  
"You will help us, or I will kill you!"

The spirit was silent for a moment, as if she was thinking. Then the shadow stood, moving forward. Zuko saw that she did not have just the body of a human, but something else.  
But she laughed. Her laugh sounded false, but she was harsh and kept laughing, chuckling and chortling at the hilarity of Zuko's threat. However, she stopped abruptly, and her breath hissed through her teeth.

"Your voice makes me wish I was a mortal human once more, nephew of Iroh. You sound handsome and pure, if not a little arrogant. Let me see your face."

Zuko felt fear as the spirit moved closer to him, but that pleading, sad voice made him comply with her wish. If he lit a fire, he would also be able to see her as well. With that Zuko lifted his hand in front of him, and a hearty, warm blaze lit up the cave, and the shadows it threw made the dragons on the ceiling dance. He gasped at what he saw, and sub-consciously he heard Feng Jie gasp as well.

The creature in front of him obviously used to be beautiful, but her strange golden hair was thin and tangled, and her white dress was stained and dirty. Her face was sunken in, but her eyes stood out brilliantly. They were a magnificent shade of emerald. However, besides her voice, that was all that was beautiful. Long, black, twisted horns reached out of her head, and her hands and feet were clawed. A long dragon's tail twisted and writhed at her feet. Zuko found her repulsive, but could not look away. He heard his uncle sigh sadly. What had happened to this spirit?

"I will help you, but you must do something for me first," whispered Feng Jie, breaking the shocked silence.

"I have seen something in your eyes, young firebender, that I see will be very useful. What is your name?"

Zuko looked at the spirit, and saw that she was indeed going to help, and he sighed in small relief. This monster was so close, he could smell her rank breath. This used to be a human?

"My name is Zuko, son of firelord Ozai, and I am at your service, Feng Jie, spirit of the wind." He had no idea where the words had come from, but he somehow knew what to say in the presence of the spirit.

"Wonderful," exclaimed the spirit, sounding almost excited. There was hint of a smile on her fanged mouth when she said, "For me to lend you my power, you must retrieve a Dragon's Tear, an emerald that can often be found in the desert. I will accompany you on your journey, to offer you guidance and any advice you may need. But I cannot absorb the Dragon's Tear outside of my cave, so I need you carry it. Are you ready?"

Zuko looked to Iroh, who smiled at him. He knew something that he didn't. But what? The spirit's voice still echoed around the cave. No hope. No hope. No hope.

"We'll do it."


	2. Jie the Airbender

(A/N: For those who knew me before I went on an EXREMELY extended hiatus, I apologize for not continuing my stories. Many I think I will delete. I may, however, come back with my Artemis Fowl story. God, it's been a long time.)

Feng Jie did actually smile when Zuko promised his services, though it seemed kind of hollow and empty. Taking a few shuffling steps back she sat back again on her throne, and emitted a deep sigh.

"I will be waiting for you at the entrance to my cavern. My appearance will be… different, so do not be surprised when you see me. Go now." Her thin and mangled frame seemed to deflate at she closed those luminous eyes and released all the air in her body. And before Zuko's and Iroh's eyes she disappeared, fading into the darkness.

"Hurry," her voice echoed through the cave, "I do not wish to be kept waiting."

Iroh was already heading to the stairs when Zuko collapsed against a wall, simply awe-stricken.

"Uncle, what the hell is that thing, really? Should we be dealing with such magic?"

Iroh kept ascending the staircase slowly and at his own pace, until he got so far ahead Zuko was forced to run and catch up. Once he did, he kept his silence as his uncle was reserved in his own thoughts. The silence was heavy for a few minutes, until finally Iroh turned to the one young man he now considered a son.

"You wouldn't know of how a mortal human became a wind spirit, would you?" he asked quietly, his deep baritone voice stiff in the still air.

Zuko shrugged, "No, I wouldn't," he admitted after a while.

Iroh nodded. "She has gone through a lot, and once she was even a very powerful spirit. Too powerful for the other spirits, I suppose. When I was a young lad, and still only a lieutenant in the firelord's army, the other troops would tell stories by the firelight at night to keep our spirits up. We were going to try and invade Ba Sing Sei that very next morning. This was before I tried it as a General. I was lucky to survive that siege. Anyways, one of the stories that a private told the score of soldiers I was leading was the one of Feng Jie.

"Long ago, before we had conquered over the airbending temples, there was once a young maiden by the name Jie, who lived in the Eastern Temple as an airbender, learning from the monks their secrets. She was able to master any technique the monks showed her, and create a few of her own, as it were. She was also an inventor. Do you remember the staff the Avatar carried along?" Iroh asked, pausing his story.

"Very well," mumbled Zuko, remembering the countless whacks and bumps to his head from that contraption.

"That was her creation. A way to let the airbenders fly for a long period of time. She enjoyed the idea of flying so much she rarely came down. Her father, however, hated the idea, not being an airbender himself. After seeing his beautiful daughter remain in the skies for hours at a time, he commanded that she come back down.

'What do you wish of me, Father?' she asked sweetly once her feet had touched ground. Quickly her father seized her and threw her into a locked room, with no windows to look out to the sky.

'I wish of you to stay upon the ground so I may find you a proper husband,' he declared to her, locking the door and asking a guard to watch over her."

Iroh here paused, and looked to Zuko. The young man was looking to the stairs, climbing them slowly. "That's…" he did not finish. He had never known the horrors of captivity, not for any long period of time.

"It was worse for her," Iroh continued, "She had never known captivity, and every night she would desperately try to escape, like a songbird in a cage. One day, she realized that escape was quite impossible. So, placing her hands against the walls of her cage, Jie prayed to any spirit and any god that would answer her pleas for escape. She prayed for hours, until, one moment, a voice replied.

'I can set you free, make you immortal, make you one with the wind,' it said. Jie jumped up and cried aloud to the mystery voice, shouting out that she would do anything to be free to fly once more.

'Then it shall be. Welcome to the spirit world, Feng Jie,' cried the voice, and Jie, now christened Feng Jie, collapsed to the floor. When she awoke, she was no longer human, but a wind spirit, in the form of a long, snaking dragon, with a golden mane and blue markings shimmering all over her scaly body. At first, Feng Jie was horrified at her new body, but then she realized what power she had when she raised herself to all fours, and her long tail smashed through the walls of her cell. Sunlight poured through, and with that Feng Jie was off, flying through the sky at such a speed she had traveled the world over four times before she realized that she was full of tremendous power. Quickly she flew down to the ground, where a large tree stood tall. Using her claws the tree was felled to the ground in one slash. The wind followed her where ever she went. Feng Jie loved her power so much, she traveled to the spirit world just to challenge the other spirits. After defeating another wind spirit as well as a wood spirit, she grew arrogant with her power, and challenged any spirit to come and face her. She got her wish, and the king of all the spirits, the same one that had given her powers, came and vented his wrath upon her.

'I would strip you of your power, except that would not be punishment enough!' he roared, 'So I will simply weaken you, until you can no longer fly, and no longer destroy. You will live between the two worlds, theirs and the spirits', and every day will be anguish for you. Now, be gone!'

And with that, he cast her back down to earth, and she landed exactly where we found her. She has lived in that cave ever since, neither maid nor dragon, surviving simply off her own energy."

Iroh finished his tale right as they saw the light of day at the entrance to the cave. Zuko breathed deeply the fresh, dry air, and squinted as his eyes adjusted to such brilliance.

"But, Uncle, what about when she said you have met her before?" Zuko breathed in, and coughed as sand flooded down his throat.

"That's a story for another time, Zuko," he replied gruffly. They were now outside, standing near one of the dragon statues. Feng Jie was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is she?" growled Zuko under his breath as he started to feel the heat of the desert once more. It was nearing dawn. Had they been in that cave all night?

"Over here," cried a weak voice from the cave's entrance. Zuko spun around, and saw nothing.

"Over where?" he cried, looking left and right. Still no Feng Jie. He stepped closer to the cave. He was about the take another when the voice cried out once more.

"Wait, wait! Stop walking, and look down!" Zuko froze, and looking down as he was told, he was mortified to find a small… snake? Lizard? What the hell was that thing?

Iroh laughed, stepping up next to Zuko and looking down at the little creature that was hiding in the shadow of one of the dragon statues.

"Only a fraction of your power is left, eh, Feng Jie?" he asked coyly, kneeling down to look at the creature. Zuko did the same, and saw that the horns and claws that he had seen on the wind spirit below were the same.

"I… I cannot go out there," whined the wind spirit, looking fearfully to where dawn's rays splashed against the sand.

"I… haven't been outside in… so, so long!"

Zuko looked at Feng Jie, thinking hard, before reaching down and grabbing her by the tail. She looked just like the dragon in the story, except smaller.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing!?" she squealed from Zuko's grasp. She squirmed and clawed at his hand and even bit him, but it was no use; he wouldn't let go.

"Taking you outside," he said with a malicious grin on his face. He stepped out into broad daylight, and stuck out the hand that held the little dragon into the light.

"Ah! Okay, okay! Head west until you see a vulture-bees' hive, then head north until I say, just let me get somewhere dark!" Zuko laughed and tucked Feng Jie under his shirt, where he could feel the little spirit squirm around until she was comfortable lying on his shoulder. Iroh made a glance at his nephew, before heading in the direction Feng Jie had instructed.

"You can be persuasive when you want to be, Zuko," he chided gently.


	3. Bonding can be Painful

A/N: I do like the third season, don't get me wrong. I just really like this story, and I think it would lose some of it's goodness if I changed it completely so as to match the third season.

The hot sun beat down upon the three travelers as they moved through the sifting sand, heading west with nothing on the horizon. They had been traveling for hours, and the two humans were on their last water sack. Feng Jie had not moved from her position on Zuko's shoulder, only moving occasionally to whisper encouragements into his ear. They kept moving, never resting, until finally, the sun began to set. The air immediately began to cool, and when the red hot sun finally climbed its way over the last sand dune, it was night, and it was cold.

"Perhaps we should stop here for a while, and be ready to rise before the sun does, so we may travel when it is still cool," suggested Iroh quietly to his companions. Zuko nodded, and without a word he sat down upon the ground. Iroh did as well, and passed the water to his nephew. Zuko let some of the cool water slide down his throat before handing it back to his uncle, who also drank some, but only a little. Without a word the two slumped down into the sand, close to keep some warmth between them.

"Hey, hey! Watch what shoulder you are sleeping on!" cried Feng Jie from inside Zuko's shirt. Zuko sat up, until the little dragon slid out of his shirt and onto the sand. He then lay back down, closing his eyes. Feng Jie sighed, and curled up, but she no longer slept. Spirits did not, and so the spirit left in her kept her from resting. But, now that she was outside, she did not think she would be able to. Looking up to the sky, Feng Jie gasped at what she saw. So many stars glimmered and shined upon the black canvas that was the sky! The moon was what fascinated her more. She had forgotten the beauty of it all.

"You can't sleep either?" quietly asked Zuko above the roar of his uncle's snoring.

"No. I cannot," replied the little dragon, hiding her tears from the banished prince.

There was silence between the two, where neither spoke, but simply looked up into the cosmos and kept to their own thoughts.

"What happened to you?" asked Feng Jie, taking her tearing eyes away from the sky to look at Zuko.

"Wh-what do you mean?" stammered Zuko, before masking his emotions. He couldn't let the dragon see the worry and fear he felt.

"The spirit half in me can feel the turmoil that is brewing inside you," she replied.

Zuko kept his gaze upon the stars. Her voice always sounded so awful! No hope. No hope. No hope.

"I was going to ask you the same thing, excluding the spirit bit," he replied after a while. He did know her story, but he did not know all of it. Especially about what happened with his uncle.

"I could… show you what happened. But there would be consequences," she added quickly to the end of her proposal.

"What do you mean consequences?" Zuko inquired suspiciously, taking his eyes off the sky to look down at the little dragon. How the hell was she going to _show_ him? Feng Jie fidgeted in the sand for a moment.

"Well, the process is for my spiritual side to melt into your... your… essence. It does not hurt, I promise," she added quickly when she saw the snarl that had grown on Zuko's face, "but along with you seeing everything I have seen, the same happens vice versa. I see your past, your emotions, your… everything," she whispered.

"That is what will happen," she concluded nervously, looking up into the now stone-faced Zuko's eyes. Silence reigned for what seemed to be hours, until, finally, Zuko sighed.

"No, I don't think so," he growled, turning his back to the lizard and closing his eyes, praying for sleep. But then he felt her crawl up his back, and then under his shirt. Her little claws scratched and pricked at his skin.

"What are you doing?!" It was Zuko's turn to scream this. He reached back, attempting to grab the pest and throw her far away.

"I'm curious now," he swore he heard her say from the small of his back. He grabbed at there too, but she was too quick. Was she on his stomach?

"You essence lays in your heart. When I reach it, I will melt into you, and for a short period of time, there will be two beings in one body. You will start to feel… strange."

"What do mean, strange?!" demanded Zuko, but it was too late. Feng Jie was crawling up his chest, stopping right where his heart beat beneath his skin, and before Zuko could even exclaim a "That tickles!" Feng Jie had pressed her small body against the warm flesh of Zuko's chest, and had let her molecules blend with his, until she was no longer outside, but mixed with Zuko's soul.

Zuko tore at his shirt and glared down at his chest, but Feng Jie was nowhere to be seen.

"Wha-?" Zuko gasped. At least, that's what he tried to gasp, but a searing pain seemed to split open the top of his head, his hands, feet, and lower back. All he could think about was the pain. Wait, there was more. Through the pain Zuko felt an ache in his heart to be able to fly once more… Wait, he had never been able to fly! Yes, he could. He was, used to be, an airbender.

Zuko collapsed onto the sand, though he did not know it. Behind his closed eyelids, a whole story was playing out. He used to be able to fly, and he loved it. One day, his father dragged him to the ground and locked him up in a horrid little cell, with only a cot, a candle, and a mirror. Zuko dragged his woeful soul to the mirror, and the reflection shocked him. It wasn't his body, but Jie's.

"She's beautiful," he whispered as he gazed into the mirror.

Dark hair encircled her heart-shaped face, and her eyes were absolutely stunning, the same emerald green Feng Jie had. Her lips were perfect, her skin was perfect, Zuko was stunned.

"My gods," he whispered, and then gasped. It was her voice. It was still sad, but not nearly as heartbreaking as he had met her.

Suddenly, Zuko was pulled out of her body, until his conscious was floating above, watching what she did. Jie knelt down beside the cot, and he could hear her praying.

"Dear spirits, my body is tired. I can no longer fly amongst the clouds, and my spirit is broken. Please, if there is anything you can do, I beg of you, please help me!"

Once more Zuko was thrown back inside her body, but he could no longer control the body. He was simply a spectator. And then, the voice of the King of the Spirits cried out.

"I can set you free, make you immortal, make you one with the wind!"

"No, no don't!" cried Zuko, but it was no use. Jie didn't hear.

"Yes, please, anything!" he heard Jie cry, and he could do nothing but watch and feel what happened right of her head.

"So be it," exclaimed the spirit, and then Zuko felt a pain like nothing else. It had hurt when the vision had first started, but that was nothing. His… her whole body was on fire, and he felt his bones elongate, her muscles reshape, her hair and claws grow. The pain was unbearable, and in her mind, in his soul, he was screaming.

Then, it stopped. He felt Jie stir, and then stand. She was a wind spirit dragon, Feng Jie.

The rest passed by in a blur, because he knew what happened, and he didn't want to feel the pain of being forced to be half spirit and half human. He now knew why Feng Jie was so heartbroken. He felt it too. Now, he only wished to be out of this nightmare, to stop watching it all. How was Feng Jie fairing in his past, in his emotions and pain?

* * *

"You will stand and fight!" growled Zuko's father. Feng Jie was terrified as she felt Zuko bend down to his knees and bare his open neck to his merciless father. 

"I meant you no disrespect, father!" whimpered Zuko, and Feng Jie could not help but cry out for him.

"He did not! He did not! Oh, leave him be!" she cried from inside Zuko's very being, but her pleas went unanswered. The Firelord still advanced, until she felt an enormous amount of pain. Zuko had looked up to ask for forgiveness.He had looked up, and now she knew why such a huge scar was on his face.

Feng Jie whisked herself through the rest of Zuko's memories, her curiosity drained. She was afraid to feel such pain again. She watched as Zuko set off to find the Avatar and to regain his honor, as he failed, and went into exile. He cut his hair, he traveled secretly, and he found her cave.

Feng Jie was exhausted. It was time to bring Zuko out of her past and back into the present. Focusing her energy, she pictured the night sky, and she pulled herself away from Zuko, even if she really didn't want to. His warmth was a comfort after all of these years of cold solitude.

"Almost there," she grunted, and finally, they were free. Feng Jie felt herself flung to the sand, the soft, real sand. Feng Jie relaxed her small body, breathing heavily. Next to her, she could hear Zuko gasping as well. Good thing he was breathing, at least.

They lay there for a while, simply resting and thinking about what they had seen. Feng Jie was the first to speak up.

"I… I am sorry," she whispered, "sorry about… what had happened to you."

Zuko was silent for a while, thinking about everything he had seen, and he remembered the pain ever so clearly. He felt a strange wetness in his eyes, and he wanted to push it all down. So that was what made Feng Jie so miserable.

"You promised it wouldn't hurt," he said, and from that moment on, as small smiles cracked the shields surrounding the two lost and worried creatures, a bond was formed. It was small, but the half-spirit and the banished fire prince had found someone who understood them.


	4. Borrowed Heaven

Feng Jie sat upon General Iroh's shoulder that morning, as they traveled further into the desert. The awkwardness between her and Zuko had become too great, and she was shy to sit upon his shoulder. However, his growling abdomen and splitting head ache still made him shout at her and growl at her responses.

"You said this was on the edge of the desert, not in the middle of the desert. Why don't we just keep going to Ba Sing Sei, and forget about this stupid Dragon's Tear?"

Iroh opened his mouth to calm Zuko, but Feng Jie cut in.

"Because we're not in the center, we're off on the eastern edge. You'll get lost without me, or you'll sink into a sand trap. By the way, I would… Uh, take about five paces to your right, then keep walking straight."

Zuko stopped in his tracks, a huge scowl tearing across his face. He looked to his uncle before moving to his right five paces, than moving on. Iroh did the same, and he let a small smile play across his lips before doing the same.

"Tension has filled the air quite thickly, Feng Jie. My nephew means well, even if he seems a little strung," he whispered after a moment of walking and contemplating.

Feng Jie shifted so that her claws dug through Iroh's cloak and into his skin. She may have crawled under Zuko's shirt for the cool darkness, but there was no way she would sit on Iroh's shoulder under his clothes.

Now that Zuko knew her whole… well, almost whole, story, she felt an emptiness deep inside, that only made her hate Zuko fiercely. It was like she no longer had anything secret to keep from someone, to retreat to for safety. It was a horrible feeling, and she blamed Zuko for it, despite it was her curiousity that started it all.

They walked for another hour, occasionally drinking out of the water skin, and Iroh and Zuko shared their last Mango. Iroh did not say anything, because he knew that Zuko would agree, but unless they found the Dragon's Tear and started heading back soon, they would surely die out here. Iroh looked down the corner of his eyes at Feng Jie, thinking of when they had met before, when suddenly she rose and slid to the ground, where she walked quickly, looking like a little sand skipper lizard.

"Over this last dune, and then we will be at the Dragon's Tree," she hissed in a very snake-like way. Zuko quickened his pace, wondering why a tree would be in the middle of the desert. As he breached the dune, his doubts filed away.

"Holy --" Iroh covered his nephews mouth as he too gazed upon the glorious oasis set in the desert.

"Feng Jie, this isn't a mirage?" he asked slowly, gazing down at the little piece of paradise. Zuko's weak legs felt as if they would collapse underneath him, whether from exhaustion or surprise he did not know.

"Not a mirage," she replied, sliding down the dune towards the beautiful landscape.

It was small, but not lacking in everything a human could need. There was a small pool, with fruit trees, and the sound of birds and insects. In the middle was one huge, gorgeous tree, one that rose above the others and spread its large flowers over the whole oasis. Zuko decided that that tree must be the Dragon's Tree.

His gaze dropped a few degrees and he saw the Iroh and Feng Jie were already at the bottom of the dune and close to the oasis. Cursing under his breath Zuko headed down the dune and towards the cool pond.

They stayed in the oasis for the rest of the day, drinking their fill of cool water and eating their weight's worth in fruit. Feng Jie did not eat or drink at all, but simply stared at the Dragon's Tree. Its very presence filled her with an energy that made her want to spread invisible wings and fly away. Though, after some thought, she decided that she did not need wings right now. She could do something better.

"This fruit is exceptionally delicious, Zuko, you should try it. It would go well with Gin Seng tea."

Zuko reclined against one sturdy tree, closing his eyes and digesting the large amount of fruit he had eaten.

"I already had some, Uncle. I'm not hungry anymore."

Iroh did not reply, unless his snoring counted. The old man had not taken well to the heat of the desert, and the oasis' peace and calm sent him to slumber immediately. Zuko smiled slightly at his uncle. He would never admit it to anyone, ever, but Iroh was more like a father to him than his real paternal father.

A rustling sounded in the bushes, and Zuko started and stood, taking up a fighting stance and preparing to knock unconscious the thing that was in front of him. Maybe they could eat it.

"I like it here, Zuko, but -- Ahh! Put that away!" Feng Jie had stepped out of the bushes, swiping her hand, yes, hand, over Zuko's clenched, flaming fists.

"Damn it, Feng Jie! How in earth did you…?"

Feng Jie sat upon the ground, on her human bum, twisting her dragon's tail between her clawed fingers. She looked just like she had back in the cave, except… different, Zuko decided. Better looking. Yes, he would allow that.

The sunken look she had donned had disappeared, and her skin glowed with a healthy complexion. Her hair was still so pale, like the color of dried grass, but perhaps that was what happened when you merged with a spirit. Those horns still sat upon her head, and her hands and feet, though slender and delicate, still had horrid claws. Zuko found himself thinking shamefully, that he was glad her eyes had not changed. They were still as beautifully green as usual. He wanted to slap himself.

"You do not feel it? There is so much energy around here from the tree, I was able to change form. It is much more comfortable."

Zuko turned away, closing his eyes again. He didn't care. He couldn't. He wouldn't. Couldn't, shouldn't, won't. She sure did look nice, though. Pretty even, once you got over that dragon stuff. Zuko bit his cheek, tasting the blood and breaking those disturbing thoughts.

"Tomorrow we'll stock up on food and water, get your Dragon's Tear, then leave," Zuko clipped. He did not look up, but turned away as if he was going to sleep. Iroh had not woken from his noisy slumber, and he did not want to start an argument with Feng Jie that would.

"Fine, that is a good plan," he heard her say tensely. There was silence as the sky darkened and Feng Jie found herself glancing over at Zuko. His still, muscular form reeked of arrogance, and she hated it. Hated it, yet… She was still attracted to him. And for that she loathed human the human emotions that lurked inside herself.

"Because I do not sleep, I will keep watch for you. Do not bother waking up," she said stiffly, and Zuko grunted. At least he was awake.

As Feng Jie meditated through the night, she swore that she never heard Zuko's breath ease to a slumbering sigh, and never felt his wakeful presence slow. Why didn't he sleep?


	5. Touching Reasonland

The next morning Zuko and Iroh both woke up slowly and drudgingly. Zuko had not slept much, and so his temper had obviously only grown over night. As Feng Jie moved closer to the tree, however, her walk became a skip, and a pure smile was dancing across her face.

"It is such a beautiful morning, is it not?" She cried in a sing-song voice to the two dozy firebenders. Zuko only grunted, while Iroh yawned and wiped the sleep from his eyes.

"It is, child, but it is also such an early morning," he groaned heavily, "How are you capable of keeping such an upbeat energy?"

Feng Jie didn't turn around, but hummed a tune as she replied.

"If only you could feel the spirit energy like I do, then you would only understand how I feel so... alive!"

Deeper into the forest they traveled, until eventually Zuko and Iroh were burning their way through, despite Feng Jie's furious protests.

"Poor plants, they are a part of the Dragon Tree too, you know," she chided. But that was all. The excitement pent up in her lithe and twisted body was too much to handle such an argument, and she only quickened her pace. She was practically sprinting when Zuko finally exploded.

"Why did you even need us for this damn trip anyways?" he roared to her once he caught up, "You've made it this far, haven't you?"

She kept running for a few more meters, then stopped, leaning against a stone wall, turning and giving Zuko a haughty glare.

"It is true, I did not need you to get here. But I do need you to get the Emerald off of the tree," and with that she pointed straight upward. The wall she had leaned against was not actually a wall, but a part of the Dragon's Tree. In fact, the tree was so large, that as Zuko looked both left and right, he could not see it turn. And as he looked up, he could not see a branch to climb on for more than two-hundred feet.

"And how exactly am I supposed to do that? And why can't you do it?" He rubbed a hand through his shortened hair, glaring at the half-spirit with such contempt the air was practically frozen between them.

"Well," started Feng Jie slowly, ignoring Zuko's contempt and choosing her words carefully. Suddenly, a wry smile was upon her face, "You have to get it because outside of my cave, if I were to touch it, it would infuse violently with my hands, and I would be unable to control the power that would course through me."

At this point Feng Jie stopped, taking a step closer to Zuko with a truly evil grin on her face. Zuko stepped back, almost afraid of what she was about to do.

"As for how you're going to get up there and retrieve, I must first ask a question," continued Feng Jie slyly. Zuko's eyebrows rose in question, and he dreaded what she was going to say.

"Are you afraid to fly?"

Before Zuko could even open his mouth to reply, Feng Jie had moved swiftly behind him in one blurred movement, and wrapped her arms around his chest in a furious grip that Zuko could not seem to break. And suddenly, she bent her knees, then kicked off the ground, souring into the air with such grace the airbending Avatar would be jealous. Iroh watched in amazement as Feng Jie and his nephew took off into the sky, whipping past shorter trees' branches, and he laughed as he heard Zuko yell out in something close to terror.

"I'll bring him back down in one piece," Iroh swore he heard and he smiled. Oh, for the lovely beauty of youth.

* * *

Zuko had truly been taken by surprise, and as he felt himself lifted off the ground, he cried out, but only for a moment, as his breath was whisked out of his lungs at the full force of defying gravity. Feng Jie lifted him effortlessly into the air, and just when he thought that her first leap would not make it to the first branch, they were there. Her slender, cool arms released him, and he sat there, panting on a branch that was as wide as he was tall. Closing his golden eyes and gaining his flustered composure, he listened to Feng Jie laughing happily. At first he had assumed she was laughing at him for when he had cried out, but then he heard the quality of that tinkling laughter. 

Compared with all of the little smirks and grins she had given him before, this was... beautiful. He had never heard true happiness before this. It was just so... light and carefree. Oh gods, he was awestruck by her laughter! What was happening to him?

Zuko waited for her stop, feeling his heart flutter in time to the rises and falls of pitch in her giggles. Why exactly was she laughing? He heard her take a deep breath, and sigh deeply.

"You don't understand how it feels to be able to fly again, Zuko," she said through giggle fits.

"It's... It's... oh, I feel great!"

Zuko almost did a double take as he listened to her speak. Well, firstly, she had said his name. Never had she said his name in that way. Always it had been in contempt, if at all. Her speech was so relaxed now, like... well, a young girl's way of talking. She was so happy...

"Okay, I'm ready to do it again," she said after sighing heavily, wiping away joyful tears. Zuko nodded, bracing himself this time. Feng Jie slipped behind him and grasped his chest firmly, locking her hands together. Shifting her legs she leapt into the air, dragging Zuko with her in one powerful jump. They raced through the air, slicing through it like an arrow. It was exhilarating. Sub-consciously he could here Feng Jie laughing, and he joined in, looking upwards with an adrenaline-rushed energy, and shouting out to the world the power he felt then and there in that short three seconds. It was three seconds too soon when they landed on the next branch, and Feng Jie let him go, punching him playfully on the shoulder.

"Not afraid to fly now, huh?" she chided gently. Zuko smirked, standing on the huge branch and facing her, crossing his arms. She was pressing her hands against the thick trunk next to them, inhaling deeply.

"You're not tired, are you?" he asked, glaring at her in what he hoped was the same contempt he had always shown her. Why couldn't he reall feel like that anymore?

"Nope, c'mon, silly, let's go!" she cried, racing toward him and nudging him in the shoulder. It was at that very moment Zuko had shifted his shrugged weight from one foot to the other, and when his balance was radically off. It was that very second that he toppled, and fell of the edge of the branch.

"Zuko!" she shrieked, eyes widening. Feng Jie was after him in a flash, straightening her body into a dive. As Zuko waved his arms frantically she gripped his wrist tightly and swung her body around, all in midair. The branch they had landed on in the beginning was approaching rapidly, and Feng Jie had little time.

"Hold on, Zuko!" she cried, and tightened her grip on his wrist. Taking a deep breath, she released the air through her nose, slowing their decent. Still they would not fall slowly enough. Moving through the air she wrapped her arms around Zuko's waist and held tightly, and then, with a jarring thump, she landed on her feet on the branch. Quickly she rolled forward so that her weight was never resting on one appendage, until they stopped, Feng Jie panting heavily.

"Idiot," she grunted.

"Sorry," Zuko gasped through ragged breaths.

They didn't move for a moment, resting and relaxing after the shock. Zuko could have died. It was two minutes later that Zuko realized that they were tangled together after the rough roll Feng Jie had used to lessen the amount of force that had come with the fall. Zuko was laying on top of her, and her arms were wrapped in a death grip around his waste, to protect him. He looked into her liquid green eyes, detecting the same surprise that he felt. Quickly he pushed himself off, scotting away from her. Feng Jie rose as well. She cleared her throat and turned back to Zuko.

"You really should be more careful," she said coolly. Giving him a hand she helped him upright, and stood for a moment, looking upwards and avoiding each other's gaze.

"Right, I will," Zuko chose his words carefully. That one moment where they were embraced like lovers was a moment he felt that would haunt him in his dreams, and the redness on his face only proved it.

"Okay. Let's get moving on, then," Feng Jie muttered. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end. The last part of her curse... she thought it was impossible!

Quickly and quietly Feng Jie grasped Zuko, but now right below his chest, but not his waist. It was an almost cold gesture, and as she leaped into the air, there was silence between the two as both stewed in their own thoughts. Neither of them would admit of the electricity they felt pulse between them when they touched.

* * *

The rest of the way up the tree was uneventful, and when finally they reached the canopy, Feng Jie was itching with anticipation. 

"I can't believe you can't feel the spiritual energy. It's just so... alive!"

Zuko was about to snap back and say that no, he did not feel it, for the thousandth time, when in fact, he did. He felt a sort of current flowing through his body, tugging him towards the tree, pulsating through his veins.

"I do feel it," he whispered, looking at the huge emerald leaves that surrounded them. They all had to be twice as big as his head, and they were a brilliant green color. There was such power here, he had almost missed it. He could have gone on with his life without noticing it, it was so subtle. He turned to Feng Jie, who had a smile on her face.

"Good, I'm glad. Here, a Dragon's Tear should be in this blossom here, I can feel it," she said, pointing to a closed flower on one of the many branches. There were many of these flowers on the tree, and as Zuko approached the one Feng Jie pointed out, he could feel the energy pulsate. He reached to force the flower open, but Feng Jie stopped him, touching his arm gently with those slender dragon hands.

"Wait, don't make it open. I have to open it. Once it opens, take this rag," she handed him a strip of blue cloth, "and gently take the emerald out. Don't try to force it, otherwise it will snap shut on your hand."

Zuko nodded, and fixed his eyes upon the closed bud. He heard Feng Jie shuffling through her sleeves, and was just about to ask why she was taking so long, when he could no longer think clearly.

The music was everywhere, piercing through his mind and rocking his essence with such gentle beauty tears streamed rushed to his eyes. It reminded him of his mother, and of her soothing lullabies when he had been sick. He had been ridden with the Pentapox, and was forced to stay in bed. The royal doctors said that he would be fine, but he would not be able to leave his room for another weak. Oh, it had hurt so badly! He remember calling for his mother, and remembered how she sat at the edge of his bed and played him a song on her little flute.

"Zuko, hurry!"

Zuko was back on the tree, staring down at the biggest emerald he had ever seen. It was smooth and tear-shaped, glittering in the dim light of the shaded noon. The music had only stopped briefly, and he spared a glance at Feng Jie, who glared and motioned for him to take the emerald. A small wooden flute, exactly the same as the one his mother had played, was in her hands, producing that beautiful marching ditty.

Zuko turned back to the flower, who's white petals reflected the glow from the emerald. Bunching the rag in his hand, Zuko gently seized the Tear. As soon as he did Feng Jie stopped playing, and the flower snapped shut.

Feng Jie looked down at the Dragon's Tear in Zuko's hand, and felt the urge to reach out and take its warmth into her palm. Zuko saw the greedy look in her eye and wrapped the Tear safely in the rag, and placed it in his bag for the time being.

"Where'd you get that flute?" he asked nonchalantly, glancing at Feng Jie from the corner of his eye.

"Ah, my mother, before she died. She traveled a lot, and picked up the skill in the fire nation," Feng Jie said quietly. She glanced at Zuko, and urged the energy she felt to make her look more... human. She could not stand being with a dragon's tail and horns. Closing her eyes she was able to make them less noticeable, smaller. Still, there would only be one way to make them disappear completely.

"My mother played the same instrument," commented Zuko, "You reminded me of her."

There was silence, neither looking at the other, but out through the leaves, where the desert sky could be seen. The sun was beginning to set. How long had they been up there?

"Come on, Iroh will be down there waiting," Feng Jie said eventually. The peace up here in the Dragon's Tree was immense, and she felt like she could never leave. Yet, she had to do this for Zuko and Iroh.

Their descent was much more calculated than Zuko's fall, and they made it down alive. At the foot of the tree Iroh had a pot of some kind of stew, and tea, waiting. He welcomed them happily and heard Feng Jie tell how Zuko had fallen, but she conveniently left their embrace out. Iroh laughed at Zuko's clumsiness, and he told a few stories of his own, fairytales. They laughed and they sighed, well, Feng Jie and Iroh had, anyways. Zuko remained more distant than usual, staring into the fire with a taciturn demeanor.

Slowly silence fell upon their small camp at the base of the Dragon's Tree, and Zuko had fallen asleep. His deep breathing was all to be heard, until Iroh broke the silence.

"Did you ever discover if the last part of the curse is true, Feng Jie? Last time I met you, you were still trying to find out."

Feng Jie smiled faintly, shrugging.

"I don't know. After much thought I decided that a true love's kiss seems too... story-like for the Spirit King. I believe he told me that only to give me hope, and shatter it. Besides, it didn't work on you," and she smiled. Iroh chuckled and waved his hand.

"I was young and had a wife waiting for me at home. It wouldn't have worked. But, my nephew may be different..."

Feng Jie's sly grin disappeared quickly and her face flushed.

"Hush, Iroh, you will wake him. It's a silly legend, and nothing more."

Iroh huffed and threw more wood onto the fire.

"Nonsense, true love solves all. If you ever want to be human again you should at least--"

"I am done talking about that, Iroh. No more talk of silly curses and legends."

Iroh shrugged and sipped his tea, "Fine. Let us hear a song, then. Something soft and beautiful."

It was Feng Jie's turn now to shrug, and she pulled out the whistle, then put it away once more. She would use her voice for this one.

What Iroh and Feng Jie were not aware of, however, was that Zuko had never slept. He lay on his side, brewing over what he had heard.

"In Reasonland, the emperor came down  
To the water's edge and said, "I don't know where I'm bound  
I've got emeralds and rubies sewn into my gown  
But I am sadder than the diamonds in my crown

So will you lay me down in a fiddler's cloud  
Lay me down to dream  
Let my aching head be still, let me surrender to your will  
Lay me down, deliver me."

_A mighty Queen came down to the sea  
__Said, "I may win any battle that I please  
I got a hundred-man batallion, they all fall down at my feet  
But there's a songbird who will not sing for me_

_So will you lay me down in a fiddler's cloud  
Lay me down to dream  
__Let my aching head be still, let me surrender to your will  
Lay me down, deliver me_

_I wanna fly out to your center  
__I wanna sink down into your gold  
I wanna go down without my dagger  
I wanna shed these clothes_

_The preacher's wife kneeled down by the waves  
Said, "For your love and salvation I have prayed  
I am a tired tightrope dancer, I wanna go no more this way  
Just give me something, a penny for my faith_

_So will you lay me down in a fiddler's cloud  
Lay me down to dream  
Let my aching head be still, let me surrender to your will  
Lay me down, deliver me_

_"Reasonland", Solas_


	6. The War?

"Such a beautiful place. It is a shame we must leave it," Iroh sighed, gathering various tea plants and packing up his tea pot and pans. Feng Jie helped him, acting as if last night's conversation was nonexistent. She glanced at Zuko occasionally, who sat off on the side, gazing into a pool of water. Somehow he always sensed her gazed, so she always quickly turned away. Iroh had been wrong. There was nothing between her and Zuko, and there never will be. It's absurd, the very thought.

The trio walked quickly through the forest, Feng Jie silent and dismal as she left the one place where she felt secure in her power. Now that Zuko carried the Dragon's Tear, she may be able to keep her humanoid form, but there would be no airbending. That was not the only reason she dreaded leaving the safety of the trees. Leaving the forest and heading out into the harsh desert meant taking one step closer back to the cave, where she would fuse with the Dragon's Tear, morph into her dragon form, whisk Zuko and Iroh to Ba Sing Se, then back to her cave, and to lonely solitude. Feng Jie wanted to put this off as long as she could. Well, they had taken a shortcut through the desert. They had totally bypassed the buzzard-wasps' nest. Perhaps if they went by it this time, they would be together a little while longer. Feng Jie had not heard from the outside world in forty years. Who had won the war that Iroh had participated in?

The edge of the trees. Ahead was the blurred horizon, all golden from the sand and sun. Like Zuko's eyes. Feng Jie let her claws dig into her palms as she clenched her fists. Bad thoughts...

"Okay, we must head a little north now," Feng Jie declared nervously, hoping she could get away with her little detour. She had no such luck.

"That's not the direction we came from," snapped Zuko harshly. Feng Jie already had a lie in her head.

"The winds last night would have shifted the sinking sand. To be safe we should go this way a little."

Iroh stared at her as she moved forward, his eyebrows raised as if he knew she was lying. He did. Feng Jie turned away guiltily and kept moving, and she was surprised when he actually followed. Into the desert they went, where the air was arid and cruel and the sun seemed to never set.

* * *

"Let's stop for a while, and rest. The sun is almost at its peak, the worst time to be traveling in the desert," Iroh intoned languidly. Zuko nodded and immediately sat upon a dusty rock, slinging his bag to the ground and taking out water skins and fruit. Feng Jie sat as well, not touching the food but watching as Iroh and Zuko ate. Ever since spirit blood had entered her body she had not felt the need to eat or drink. It was a gift, as well as a burden. No longer did she feel the agonizing pain known as thirst and hunger, but she also had forgotten the sweet taste of fruits and pies. The monks at the Eastern Temple had mostly been farmers, and she remembered the soft bread and the sweet apples. She remembered them, but they were no longer appealing. She had no appetite. 

After about half of an hour they started to move on again. Feng Jie led the way as usual, with Iroh and Zuko behind. They would not speak, unless Feng Jie pointed out certain sand traps. There was one brief moment when panic ensued, as Zuko drifted off of Feng Jie's path, and slipped into a sand trap. Iroh rushed to help him, but Feng Jie was there first. Quickly she grabbed the prince's warm hand and pulled him out before his face was smothered by the sand. Once he was on firmer sand Zuko quickly let go of Feng Jie and moved off, brushing himself off and moving on without even glancing at her. Feng Jie stole a glance at Iroh, who shrugged and followed Zuko. Feng Jie moved to the front of the group once more and lead them carefully through the sand.

Night finally fell, and when it did the sun fell over the horizon quickly, so that the change in temperature was sudden. It was abruptly cold. The group settling under the shadow of a sand dune, and Feng Jie accepted Iroh's tea as a gesture of kindness. Zuko only drank from the water skin and turned away from the two, deep in his own thoughts.

"I apologize for my nephew's behavior. Unlike me, he is not much of a tea drinker," Iroh said loud enough for the distant Zuko to hear. Zuko grunted and kept his eyes to the starry sky.

"It's alright. I haven't had tea in, well, forever!" Feng Jie grinned. It sure seemed like that. Her time spent in the cave had melted together so lethargically she didn't know whether she was in there for two-hundred, maybe three-hundred years.

"Tell me Iroh, how well do you know your history?"

The elder man thought for a moment before waving a hand absently.

"Well enough. What is your question?"

Feng Jie was frank. "Who has won the war?"

Iroh choked on his tea, and even Zuko's frame stiffened slightly. It must have been a touchy subject.

"Well, no one has won yet," Iroh said after an awkward moment of silence. Feng Jie's eyes widened in disbelief. So long...

"Wow," she whispered under her breath.

"Who is winning, then?" she demanded to know. She stood slowly, looking down at the two firebenders with growing apprehension.

"We are!" Zuko cried, standing and facing her with a bitter, yet triumphant, scowl on her face, "We are, Firelord Ozai has seen to that. The war is almost over, and even the airbenders have--"

"Zuko!" roared Iroh in an uncharacteristic fury, "That is enough. There will be no more talk of the war out in the desert where our emotions are tested by the heat. Do you understand?"

"But--"

"No. That is enough," and with that he sat down and continued to drink his jasmine tea as the party fell into an awkward silence.

"Ba Sing Se is very nice this time of year," he rambled happily after a few sips of his tea.

Feng Jie collapsed in a huff and turned her back towards Zuko and Iroh. They weren't telling her something... About the airbenders, her people.

Twilight disappeared quickly, and with it the sharp cold descended. Usually a word like "sharp" wouldn't be best to describe the weather, and words like "chilly" and "brisk" were more often used. But the chill was cutting into their skin and freezing the two firebenders' bones. The way it pierced their skin was like the bite of a frozen dagger, and thus the word "sharp" came into play.

Iroh gathered himself by the small fire and drifted into a snoring slumber, while Zuko curled up on the sand and closed his eyes tightly, neither facing Iroh or Feng Jie. The wind spirit turned and laid down in the soft sand and looked up into the night sky as she often did out in the desert landscape. Silence reigned supreme for a moment, then Iroh's snores filled the dry air like the raucous cry of a demented, dying magpie. Feng Jie rolled onto her side, absently drifting her hands through the course sand and letting her thoughts wander to other universes and spiritual planes. She came to a consciousness that was so close to slumber, she jumped when Zuko sat beside her and sighed. She sat up, wrapping her arms around her knees and letting that hideous dragon's tail curl around her ankles.

"What do you want?" she asked quietly, her eyes hooded to hide the brilliant shade of green. The apprehension was well masked under the innocence of her "sleepy" self. Zuko turned away from her soft gaze, looking up into the dazzling night sky.

"To... apologize," he said after a while, drawing out the words so that they showed factual truth. He meant it. After sulking through the day, Zuko felt his temper cool to a point where he for once felt guilty about how he had acted. Feng Jie turned her head to look over the fire prince, scrutinizing. His head was hung and his messy hair hung over his golden eyes, hiding the scar.

"I do not know why I should forgive you," Feng Jie said after a moment, lifting her smooth chin up into the air in pompous rejection, closing her eyes and giving her ego a boost. When Zuko said nothing, she couldn't help but grin and muss up his hair in a friendly action.

"But I do, anyways, little princeling, because I am nice like that," she added in an uncharacteristic laugh. Zuko didn't laugh, but let a faint smile show on his tanned face, and looked up into the sky along with Feng Jie. They didn't speak, but relaxed in the chilling air, Zuko inching himself closer to the fire, while Feng Jie reveled in the feeling of cold.

"When I get you to Ba Sing Se," Feng Jie ventured slowly, "I will try to find a way to stay out of my cave, and maybe I will help in this war. ...I want to help my people. Maybe we will meet on the battlefield, Zuko." She offered up another tentative grin, but this time Zuko did not return it.

"I hope not," he whispered to himself.


	7. See the Glow

A/N: This is a very very very VERY long comeback chapter. I apologize for my long absence, and I hope this chapter makes up for lost time. For newcomers, please tell me what you think, it would be much appreciated.  
I am actually dragging this out another... probably two chapters. I was going to combine this chapter with the next scene, but the I saw the length and decided otherwise. ;)

That day seemed like the hottest of them all. The sun wavered in the sky, seemingly melting under its own heat as the three weary travelers shuffled through the sinking sand. Iroh and Zuko had donned their Earth Kingdom hats once more, but Feng Jie did nothing. Unless she concentrated on the memory of heat, she didn't even feel the dry air press down her throat. The sun above them said that they were almost three fourths done with their journey, and that the buzzard wasps' nest was very close. In fact, Feng Jie let her light wind-dragon's feet carry her quickly over the sand without sinking, and as her companions struggled to the top of a very high dune, Feng Jie glanced down cautiously at the slumbering hive.

Iroh and Zuko finally made it to where she was standing, and both gasped at the horrifying sight. The drone from the large rock hive was enough to drive a man mad, and the hive itself was huge enough to hide a few Fire Nation warships. Zuko had never seen a buzzard wasp, but the sound had him petrified already. Iroh shivered in his boots but said nothing, looking to Feng Jie for instructions.

Feng Jie was a little put off herself. She hadn't remembered the hive being so big. Then again, that was forty years ago, and most of the hive was made of buzzard wasp saliva. They had probably multiplied and spread their luminous spit enough to double the old size... The wind spirit visibly shuddered.

"Okay, we're going to skirt around it, because the area around the south and north sides of the hive are all quick sand. We're heading southeast, back to the cave, so we'll be making a straight path, going around the hive as much as we can without going into the quicksand. After we get past the hive and the quicksand, we should be able to head south just a little more, then back to the cave."

Iroh nodded, but Zuko snorted and gave a malicious snarl in Feng Jie's direction.

"That's stupid. We're going to get killed if we go near that thing," he started, but Feng Jie had already started down the dune. She turned and pressed one slender finger to her lips, urging the prince to be quiet. He had no choice but to sigh loudly and follow her. Iroh gave the hive one last apprehensive look before following.

Millions of thoughts were running through Feng Jie's head as she crept through the sand, getting closer and closer to the hive. Her previous idea of running past the beehive just so she could be with Zuko longer... Stupid. How stupid she had been! The man was an asshole anyways. At the moment she couldn't wait until she had dumped him and his uncle in Ba Sing Se so she could go out and discover what happened to her tribe, the Airbenders. But they were all going to die here, anyways, so it all didn't matter. The buzzard wasps were going to zoom out of their dark stinking pit and inject poison into all of their bodies, and this whole expedition would be pointless.

The hive was less than twenty feet away, and Feng Jie turned around once more to give Iroh and Zuko a cautionary signal for silence. The buzzard wasps were extremely protective of their hive, and if they heard any sound coming from outside, they would fly out and stop it from making the sound. The insect birds were infamous for trying to sting the living daylights out of a thundercloud. A lone buffalo-goose would be torn to shreds and dead from the poison before it even collapsed after the buzzard wasps were done.

Zuko made an effort to quicken his steps until he was walking beside Feng Jie. He gave her a furious look and motioned off southward.

"This is pointless," he whispered loudly, "we're all going to die if we don't risk it in the quicksand. Uncle says these beasts are insane!"

Feng Jie shook her head and glared back. "We at least have a fighting chance against these things. Quicksand won't flinch when you punch it," she said wisely in the same whisper Zuko gave.

Zuko growled. "You're only thinking of yourself. We're all going to die out here because you don't want to go back to your cave right away!"

"I AM NOT!" Feng Jie shouted back at him, then all was silence.

The droning had stopped.

"Shit," groaned Zuko. He turn back to his uncle and grabbed him by the wrist, urging him on. It was too late to be quiet now.

"RUN!!" Zuko shouted, and the group took off just as the droning started up again, but this time it was more furious. Then, the first buzzard wasp popped out of the hive, flying at a speed uncanny. It's dark feathered body with a strange curved beak and long, poisonous stinger was enough to send shivers down any spine. And it was heading straight toward Feng Jie, Iroh, and Zuko, with hundreds of its best friends behind.

The three did just as Zuko said, but not without the two firebenders sending powerful blasts of fire behind them first, to slow the beasts down. It did very little to hinder the creatures. About three fell to tend to their burns. Though the companions were running as fast as they could, the buzzard wasps only got closer and closer, until Feng Jie turned and stood her ground.

"We have to fight them!" she yelled back to Iroh and Zuko, who also stopped after realizing how futile their escape really was. They ran back to meet Feng Jie, and together they stood in a small circle, a firebender on each side of Feng Jie.

"Watch for their stingers!" Feng Jie shouted above the horrible noise, "If you get stung, you're dead!"

And then the demons were upon them.

Zuko and Iroh managed to keep the things away with their fire, and any buzzard wasp that managed to get too close got a furious kick in the abdomen from Feng Jie. Her airbending was practically gone, and she had only her body to fight with. Though with a long, spiked dragon tail and claws to boot, who was to say she was unarmed. Countless buzzard wasps fell to her draconic strength, and more pressed back from Iroh's and Zuko's flames. But it wasn't enough. They were hot and tired, even Feng Jie. It would be too soon when one of them would mess up, and they would all die.

Iroh was the first.

It was a small slip up, nothing more, but the buzzard wasp got to close, and Feng Jie couldn't get there in time. She turned to whip her tail into its ugly face, and missed. Time slowed so that every agonizing moment of Iroh's fall was ingrained in both Feng Jie's and Zuko's memory. The beak tore through his shirts... was that blood? There was so much!

"Uncle!" Zuko screamed, and he broke the dying circle, rushing to Iroh's side. Feng Jie took a deep breath, and using every last bit of power left in her body, blew the hundred or so buzzard wasps that were left away. It bought them time, and nothing more. She rushed to Zuko's side, tugging at his shoulder. He turned and made to strike her in his blind rage, but she stopped his hand in midair.

"Give me the emerald!" she screamed into his above the cacophony that rang through the air.

"What?!" Zuko screamed through his tears, "and leave Uncle to die?"

Feng Jie glanced behind her, where torrents of the beasts were heading their way. There wasn't much time.

"He's not going to die!" she growled in a low voice, pulling herself to Zuko's tear-stained face.

"I-I can't let it happen again," Zuko groaned, looking up at the spirit. Strangely, her eyes were blank. She had made up her mind on what she was about to do.

"It was just a scratch Zuko," came Iroh's voice suddenly, one of his strong arms grasping his nephew by the shoulder, "it just grazed me with its beak... Are you sure you want to do this, Feng Jie?"

Time was running out! There was no time for reconsideration! "Yes, I'm sure," she said after a nanosecond, "give me the emerald, Zuko." It was a command, not a suggestion.

Zuko didn't understand what was going on. Why was Uncle so skeptical about handing Feng Jie the stone? Wouldn't the emerald just give her the airbending back?

The prince dug through his bag, until his hand touched the warmth that emanated from underneath the scrap of cloth the stone was wrapped in. When he grasped the Dragon's Tear, the cloth came lose, and tumbled back into the bag as he was pulling the stone out. The sense of strength he felt in that split second he held the emerald with his bare hand was enough to erase all exhaustion. He felt refreshed, and the magic trapped inside that stone made time slow. In those few seconds, Zuko took one glance at Feng Jie, and saw her pleading face and resolute eyes stare back at him, her hand outreached to take the Tear. He gave her one final confused glance before sliding the stone into her hand, letting his fingers graze against her cool palm.

Then time sped back up again, and all hell broke loose.

In one fell swoop, before the pain could seep in, Feng Jie pressed the stone to her heart, and pressed hard. With a burst of otherworldly light the stone sank in, reminding Zuko of that one night where he had let Feng Jie into his guarded thoughts. But what happened next was far different.

First Feng Jie gasped, and that gasp turned into a scream. That scream sounded human at first, but soon it transformed into a monstrous growl, then a roar fit for a behemoth. Iroh gasped behind Zuko, and even the buzzard wasps' drone seemed to skip beat. Before their very own eyes Feng Jie lost control of her shape, her jaw elongated as well as her whole body, her arms and legs shortening. Zuko had almost forgotten how Feng Jie had looked as a little snake-lizard thing, but this was marvelous. It... she was over twenty feet long, at a guess, with a snaking torso and swirling, twisting blue markings dancing across her white scaly body. A glorious golden mane ran all the way down her spine, starting between two lovely black horns and ending at the tip of her tail. Her legs were thin but muscular, ending with scaly black talons that scratched at the sand.

Her head was beautiful, Zuko concluded after a moment of gazing over her. A thin, wolfish muzzle grinned to reveal rows of pearly teeth, and those green eyes shined through the dust like lighthouses at night. They were like a pair of cut and perfected emeralds set amongst ivory...

Something was wrong, though. Her eyes...

There were no pupils. Everything in those sockets was blanketed out with a green haze.

"Feng Jie..." Zuko called out, but the monster didn't respond. She was panting heavily, ignoring everything around her. Only when a very brave buzzard wasp attempted to sting her through those scales did she come to life.

It was lightening fast. Suddenly the dragon flashed through the air, twisted around so that her huge maw clamped down on the unfortunate buzzard wasp, spilling blood across those white scales and splattering it across the sand. The fight had seriously begun.

After seeing their comrade fall, the buzzard wasps attacked the wind spirit with gusto, but all fell prey to that gaping jaw. She was faster than Zuko had ever seen, and Iroh had sat up after stopping the blood from flowing out of his chest. She shot through the air like a coiling and uncoiling whip, striking out into the air to catch a buzzard wasp and drag it to the ground in a bloody finale. They kept coming, but each and every one lost its life to the crazed wind spirit. She kept writhing and twisting in the sand, catching each unfortunate buzzard wasp in her jaws before snapping the beast clean in half, spraying the desert with stinking blood. Zuko's eyes widened and he backed up from the monster that used to be Feng Jie. God, what had he done? He had tossed the Dragon's Tear to her, and now…

It was then he noticed that the massacre had stopped. Zuko looked up at Feng Jie, a bloody beast standing still amongst the bodies of the buzzard wasps and panting heavily. Zuko looked to her eyes again and saw how the green glow spilled out of her eye sockets and illuminated the white skin of her face.

"Feng Jie?" Zuko called softly in the silence that pounded in his ears. No buzzard wasp was left to emit any buzzing. Iroh took in a sharp breath behind him, but Zuko ignored his uncle.

Feng Jie growled, swaying in place, blood dripping from her teeth as she breathed quickly and shallowly. Zuko glanced down at his uncle's wound and saw that it was shallow, thankfully. He then stood, and took a few paces toward the wind spirit. She growled again. Zuko took one step back, but tried to find some sort of emotion in Feng Jie's eyes. It was hard, and she saw his fierce gaze, and looked away, as if ashamed.

"Feng Jie…" Zuko started, feeling strange talking to a monster. He kept his voice low, soothing, because he feared what he just saw in Feng Jie, and the only thing he needed now was for her to unleash such wrath up him and his uncle. "Feng Jie, you saved our lives. I should… thank you." She growled again, but this is time it was nothing more than a low rumble, as if she agreed. She dipped her head in acknowledgement, but averted her gaze still.

"I am… ashamed, Zuko."

Where did the voice come from? Zuko looked at Feng Jie, but her mouth had not moved. Her voice had come inside his own mind.

"Why?" he asked aloud, stepping even closer still. Feng Jie then backed off, rearing her head like a horse as she snorted and growled.

"I am a monster, Zuko!" she cried silently, "I can't control this… it… it hurts, Zuko."

Zuko looked up suddenly at Feng Jie's cry of distress. Even when they had first met, almost a week ago, the pain that she bore in her cave was nothing to what he heard now. Before it was as if she was bearing an old wound. But now… it sounded as if that wound had been torn fresh.

"Zuko," Iroh had stood and came to stand by his nephew. One hand had a piece of cloth against his wound; the other was on Zuko's shoulder. Zuko looked to his uncle, and the calming presence of the man that taught him wisdom gave him a kind of strength that he had only felt when he touched the Dragon's Tear. Zuko thought upon how he had heard Feng Jie and Iroh talking about another part of her curse, the final part that had to do with true love, and stepped forward.

"Feng Jie…" Zuko ignored her growls of protest and came within touching distance. There he stopped, standing in front of her, her eyes turned away in shame, when he saw it. There… the Dragon's Tear could be seen through her scales, where her heart should be. A faint green glow pierced the scales, beating in time with her heart. Feng Jie saw what he was looking at, and backed up even more, but Zuko refused and followed her. Before she could stop him, Zuko was close, and he pressed his hand against her heart. She growled, but understood what he was doing. There was no way he could though… he was just human.

Zuko pressed his hand against her cool scales firmly, and he felt the power of the Dragon's Tear underneath. He wasn't quite sure how he was going to do this, but he remembered how it felt when Feng Jie had welded with his own soul, and he remembered how she pressed herself against his heart. Maybe he could do the same.

"Hold still," he whispered, and he felt her shiver. Then he searched for the Tear, and he felt her body get… thinner? It was as if she was made of water, and he dipped his hand inside. He gasped as he felt Feng Jie's feelings, the shame, the fear, and most horribly of all, the craving for more blood, for power, for destruction. Zuko shuddered, but then he grasped the Tear in his hand, and pulled. It didn't budge. Feng Jie snarled in pain.

"It's stuck!" she cried in his mind, and Zuko almost let go.

"You still want to be this monster, Feng Jie," Iroh said from where he rested, "A part of you still wants the power that the Dragon's Tear holds. If you want to be released from this spirit body, you must feel more like a human."

Zuko released his grip on the Tear and drew his hand out of Feng Jie. She snarled once more, but it reduced to a purring, unhappy growl. She turned to Zuko, looking him in the eyes, and nodded at what Iroh had said.

"I do want to be… human again," she moaned inwardly. Her glowing eyes closed, and deep down she tried to remember everything that she had seen, heard, and felt as Jie, young airbender. Nothing resurfaced. The picture of an apple appeared in her mind, but she could not taste it. The sun gave light, but she could not feel it's warmth

"I can't…" she mumbled… and Zuko felt the pain she had in her voice.

"Feng Jie," he whispered, and placed his hand on her muzzle, touching her wolfish nose in a weak gesture of kindness. Then she knew what to think of.

Zuko. Zuko and his brusque way of yelling at her. Zuko, and how he grabbed her tail and forced her into the sun. And oh! How they had landed in a tumbled mess after Zuko had fallen, and she was buried in his heady scent and warm body and how their fleshy, human bodies were pressed together. She had felt like… like any teenage human, limbs tangled together in heated passion.

Zuko watched as Feng Jie's wind spirit body shuddered and shook, and he removed his hand and watched in wonder as her body shrunk and twisted and popped. Feng Jie opened her eyes, but couldn't see Zuko through the horrible green haze. She groaned, and even though she shrank back into her human-like form, the Tear just wouldn't leave her body. She pushed and yearned and wished for it to fall out, but it wouldn't. Zuko saw the pain Feng Jie was in, and was surprised to see her topple from her wobbly feet, into the bloody sand.

"It's getting dark, Zuko," Iroh claimed as Zuko ran forward to scoop Feng Jie up into his arms. "We must leave this place before any more buzzard wasps emerge from the hive."

Zuko nodded, though he barely heard. Feng Jie was unconscious. What on earth was wrong with her, and why couldn't she get the Dragon's Tear out? Zuko stood, carrying the wind spirit gently as Iroh lead the way. He vaguely knew the way back to Feng Jie's cave, but where the quicksand's hiding places were now a mystery, and it was extremely dangerous to travel. As soon as they were a good distance from the hive, they rested for the night. Iroh tended to his wound, using some the plants from the Dragon Tree's oasis to create a salve. Zuko set Feng Jie on the sand as gently as he could, staring hard at her face, willing her to open her eyes again. Why wouldn't she wake up?

Zuko turned and groaned in exasperation. There were emotions twisting inside him he had never felt before. It was excruciating, because they all revolved around Feng Jie, and her still form brought him agony.

"Uncle, what should we do? What's wrong with her?"

Iroh gazed carefully at his nephew, gauging the amount of feverish worry that was branded upon the scarred face.

"It is up to you now, Zuko. The right thing should come to you."


	8. Fire Eater

A/N: I realize reviews will be horribly nonexistent for this piece, since, like me, for the majority, everyone is absorbed in current episodes. I completely understand. While I wrote this piece in fervor originally for the reviews I was getting, I now want to complete this piece so I can say that I did. Also, I have a few ideas for other short stories and drabbles that do include the current episodes. My heart giggles at the idea :)This is the last chapter! Besides the prologue. I will give a prologue, in case I decide to continue, which I hope I do. Please read and review, so I may hear what you think.

Zuko paced and thought and moaned, but he did not know what to do. Feng Jie turned and mumbled in her sleep-like state, but he could not get her to wake up. He had yelled in her ear, shook her shoulder, even pulled at the black horns that sprouted out of her beautiful golden hair. But she did not respond. Zuko was close to tears.

"Uncle, please help me, I can't get her to wake up!" Iroh turned from the lamp he had lit, and procured some of the tea he had made back at the oasis. It was cold now, but still good.

"Make her drink this, Zuko. It should at least keep her awake for a while." Zuko took the skin full of tea, and removed the cap. With care he did not know he possessed, Zuko lifted Feng Jie's head, and gently let some of the cold tea trickle into her mouth. Some dribbled down her chin, and Zuko used his sleeve to wipe it away.

"Zuko…" Feng Jie's voice was soft and broken as she opened her glowing green eyes and tried to see Zuko's face. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she reached for his hand. He took it, and her cold claws grazed his skin lightly.

"Zuko, it hurts," she pleaded, closing her radiating eyes in shame. How could she have let this happen?

"Ssh, ssh, it's okay," Zuko whispered, squeezing her hand. He couldn't believe he was doing this. It was against who he was. He could feel the conflict fighting his inner fire.

"Feng Jie, I can help. I heard you and my uncle talking about a final part of your curse. How to break it… and… I think, Feng Jie, I think…" Zuko paused here, trying to see deeper into hazed over eyes that used to be so beautiful, "I love you…"

Iroh turned away and smiled, humming a tune to himself so to politely drown out anything that would pass between the two young ones.

Feng Jie gasped ever so slightly, and the blazing green glow disappeared from her eyes, but Zuko didn't wait to see any more, because his own butterscotch orbs closed as he leaned in and pressed his lips softly against hers. The heat that exploded between them was tremendous.

As soon as their lips parted Feng Jie gasped, and Zuko felt the Dragon's Tear slide out of her breast and onto the soft sand. It stayed there, glowing eerily in the dark. Zuko opened his eyes and looked down at Feng Jie, and saw the horns and claws had disappeared. Her hair was still the color of hay, and her eyes shone in the dark with strange ghostly power, but she looked… human.

"Zuko…" she whispered, pushing herself up onto her elbows. He didn't budge, so they were again dangerously close. Feng Jie closed her eyes, tempted by the sweet smell of his breath, but then she remembered.

"Zuko, something is wrong… I don't feel human." He pulled back then, to look her up and down, but found nothing.

"You certainly look human to me" he said huskily, with a smirk on his face, and he dove back to her sweet mouth. The feeling of… love! He was enthralled in it.

"No, Zuko, wait, you don't understand!" she cried scrambling in the sand until she was sitting up. "I can still feel it! The spirit in me hasn't left! I don't understand!" A look of panic, delicate panic flushed her face, and Zuko felt it too, and all he could do was do something he had longed to do, and that was to grab her and pull her closer, pressing her warm and trembling body to his chest.

"I know why." The voice was deep, unfamiliar, except for Feng Jie. She cried out in horror and scrambled to her feet. Zuko would not be pushed aside, though, and he helped her up, with his arms never leaving her waist. They turned together to face the King Spirit, a powerful and dangerous being, who was currently quite amused.

"I have been watching you, Feng Jie. Yes, watching you and watching your sad life on the earth. I almost pitied you and your mangled soul. But then, oh, then, I saw this!"

The King Spirit, Bi Shen, laughed, and the sound echoed against invisible barriers on the desert. Bi Shen threw back his head and chuckled, twisted horns upon his head glinting in the moonlight. His laughter stopped abruptly, and he turned his glowing gaze upon Zuko.

"You do not know this, little fireling, and I do not expect you too. But your grandfather Firelord Sozen once tried to fight me. He was strong… for a human," the spirit paused, staring sharply at Prince Zuko. He flinched, shying away from the penetrating gaze. Bi Shen reminded him slightly of Feng Jie when she had absorbed the Dragon's Tear, but so much more ferocious. He reminded Zuko of the dragon statues in the palace too, but so real, so ferocious.

"We came to a truce, as I would feel guilty for killing such a worthy opponent. In trade, I gave him some of my power." Zuko's eyebrows rose in surprise. He had never heard this before. "However, he gave me the right to interfere with his life, or his lineage's life, in any way I pleased."

Zuko felt Feng Jie gasp and sob. He was still confused, but she was terrified.

"Please no," she cried. She had no idea what Bi Shen was going to do, but the fear that he instilled in her before was overwhelming.

"I have an idea, Feng Jie, would you like to hear it?" she shook her head rapidly, cowering before the huge spirit. Zuko growled, but remained speechless in the shadow of the spirit.

"I will keep my word, you will lose the_ majority_ of your spirit curse." Feng Jie sobbed, trying to ask what he meant.

"You will remain in the body you posses now, Feng Jie, but if you can learn to call upon the power, you may change into a wind spirit. Would it be fun, Feng Jie?" She shook her head again, whimpering.

"However!" the spirit looked down at Zuko. Feng Jie feared for her prince's life, and shook in his grasp.

"I cannot let this go, Feng Jie. Your true love is the grandson of Firelord Sozen! What a good choice!" Bi Shen paused, as if for effect. "Let us test these bonds of love, Feng Jie. Will a lost memory keep you apart?" Feng Jie cried out, tightening her grip on Zuko.

"Please, don't blank his memory!" The Spirit King laughed again, shaking his head in wonder.

"I will not erase all of it, young one. Just every memory of you in his head. He will not remember this journey, because I will place him at his destination, along with his uncle."

Iroh spoke up for the first time approaching Bi Shen most carefully.

"Wise spirit, would it be best to break apart these two new lovers? Perhaps you should give them the chance of loving each other–" Iroh did not finish.

"Silence, Dragon, I do not care about how this will affect them. They are but specks in this world". Zuko watched, helpless, as the Spirit turned to them. He couldn't move, he felt so petrified! He closed his eyes, and turned his head to bury his face in Feng Jie's sweet-smelling hair, hoping to keep that scent in his mind for forever.

"Please, Bi Shen, at least give them one last moment!" Iroh interrupted once more, and the King Spirit snarled. Then laughed once more, looking at the stubborn old man before him.

"Alright, Iroh, let them have one last moment before I tear these two apart." The spirit turned his head, as if to give them privacy. Zuko was still in shock as he buried his eyes in her soft hair.

"Zuko," Feng Jie moaned, pushing him away so she could gaze one last time into his perfect golden eyes, "Zuko, please remember me…" She pressed her nose against his rough scar, committing every piece of him to memory.

"I will, I will. Promise," he whispered, and he nuzzled her chin, moving her face to an angle where he could press his lips against hers, and she opened her mouth in a desperate cry of despair, and his hot breath echoed on her tongue. She shuddered in delight and fear, for she knew that even though he promised to remember, the King Spirit was too powerful. She pulled apart from the prince, feeling as if they would never see each other again.

"I will hunt for you, Zuko, I will. When I find you, I will make you remember again," she embraced him tightly, letting his warm mouth give her comfort once more.

"You won't have to make me. You're beauty will make me remember. I don't think anything could make me forget," he sighed and filled himself with every bit of her. He gazed deeply into those green eyes, and inhaled her scent once more before kissing her sweet lips for the last time.

"Enough, I am impatient!" roared the King Spirit. Zuko was pulled apart from Feng Jie, and she cried as if her heart had been torn out. A black cloud drew over the desert and Bi Shen approached Zuko and Iroh.

"I will send you to your destination, but you will not remember anything about your journey hear in this desert." The King was not a spirit of many words, and he inhaled. His released breath puffed out in a misty cloud, surrounding the two travelers. Feng Jie ran forward, crying out to Zuko, and she thought she heard him cry back. But when the mist cleared, they had disappeared. Bi Shen was gone as well, and an ominous laugh swept through a desert wind, and then disappeared.

Feng Jie sank to the ground, tears streaming down her face freely. She was alone in the desert, the Dragon's tear buried in layers of sand, perhaps to be lost forever.

She sat there for what seemed to be days, mourning over her lost love, stumped at what she should do to start searching. She had not even learned where they were going once past the desert, except Ba Sing Sei. Ba Sing Sei… it was a start. But how would she get there? She could not walk the desert; she was already starting to feel human thirst again…

Feng Jie looked down at her now perfect, porcelain hand, and thought. Perhaps…

She stood, staring far into the distance where Ba Sing Sei lay. She closed her eyes, thinking back to how her body snaked and thrived as a wind spirit. She could feel it…

There! She gasped, and looked down at her arm. Clenching and unclenching was a scaly, clawed dragon's arm, talons as sharp as cactus needles. Feng Jie grinned slightly, and closed her eyes once more.

"I'm coming Zuko…" she whispered, but it turned into a roar in her throat.


	9. Epilogue: Wherever You Are

(A/N: None of you can see this, but at this very moment I am doing a very happy dance. :D I've done it! Completed a story! Woo! Gah, it feels so good. Okay, a few notes on the whole story before the epilogue.

I've realized during this story that as a whole I'm not that spectacular of a writer. I do enjoy writing passionate scenes and the reactions between lovers, though. Oh yes, I think I do those rather well. You know, the cute, silly, but heated things people in love do. :D

Ever since my return from a long hiatus, I did not get one new review. That's okay, though. I enjoyed writing this, and I think when I pick up on the sequel (OMG SEQUEL) I'll get more reviews.

Okay, about that sequel. Yes, there will be one. If you want to find out about it, read this epilogue, because it will help you understand what's going to happen. I'm going to make the Sequel Summary a separate chapter. It won't be long, but I don't want to add it to this chapter.)

My Dearest Zuko,

I write you this letter just to keep a connection with you. I might never get it to you, but it feels nice to write once again.

Flying. Oh God, it feels good to fly again. Oh, my Zuko, if… no, when I find you, I'll show you. I think you may like it.

I've searched Ba Sing Sei. Everything is so… upside down. All of the Earth Kingdom appears to be in war, but inside the walls it is as if that doesn't exist. Where is the Avatar? Shouldn't they be putting a stop to this?

I was surprised at how well I was able to blend in to the city. My hair was a bit of an oddity for a while, but I got a hat and covered it up, then. I wasn't able to pinch… I mean, borrow any new clothes, though, so my attire has gotten strange looks.

I stayed a few days in Ba Sing Sei, and asked for your name. It is the strangest thing, though. Whenever I ask for you, most people just seem confused, like they've never heard the name. A few, and I think these few know about the war in the world, they look about nervously before denying that they've ever heard that name. I met this one old woman, though. When I asked for your name, and told her you were a prince, she gasped and hurried me inside her house. She asked me why I was looking for you, and I almost told her the truth. But I think "Oh, he's just lost his memory and forgotten that I am his one and only love" would have sounded strange. So I told her we are betrothed, but you were swept up by politics and I was seperated from you. Doesn't it sound like a terrible lie? Well, the politics part, that is.

Anyways, she gasped at the idea of me being your betrothed, and beckoned me deeper into her house. There, she told me the strangest things.

"Child, I don't know what he has told you, but that boy is dangerous. If it wasn't for his grandfather…" she paused there, love, and do you know what she said? She said "there would still be… airbenders left. I feel like I should tell you, because you look like one."

Now, naturally, love, this made me pause. I asked her what she meant. She then went to say all of these horrible things about how the fire nation had invaded the airbending tribes and killed them all in search for the avatar. When their search was fruitless, they gave up and killed the lot of them. Isn't that silly, Zuko?

I did get angry at this, and did yell at her a little. She was such a crazy old bat, telling me these things. I mean, a woman, no matter how old, should not make up lies about a whole nation dying out.

I'm sorry Zuko, but since you weren't in Ba Sing Sei, I am going to stop at the Eastern Air Temple. I wonder how much it has changed. It has been… so very long. I will just make a quick visit, to clear these awful lies out of my head, and then I will come find you. I promise. Please, if you do remember me now, don't forget. And if you really did lose your memory, I hope you can at least feel the same longing I do. This horrible, tugging, tearing sensation at my heart. I do think my poor heart will claw itself out of my chest if it isn't reunited with yours. Before I end this letter, which won't be delivered until I actually see you again, I want to apologize. I'm sorry for having a connection with Bi Shen. And I'm sorry for being awfully lovey-dovey in this letter. It isn't really like me. But then again, I don't really know who I am right now. The Feng Jie you knew before had a raging spirit. Now, I think I can just be Jie again. I'm going to try. And I know you did threaten me a lot in the desert, and I know I deserved it sometimes. But back then I could have killed you for it. Now though, I'll go easy on you.

All my Love, Zuko

Jie


	10. Bao Nian Jie Teaser

(**A/N**: This is simply a SUMMARY of my sequel. It's meant to be awfully short. I hope everyone who sees this reads it and reviews it. I want to know if you guys would really like a sequel.)

When Jie arrives at the deserted Eastern Air Temple, she is devastated by the truth that her people have disappeared. What's worse is that she finds out that the reason they disappeared is because of the fire nation. Zuko, the firebending prince she fell in love with, becomes the object of her grief and agonized fury. Zuko, however, has had a curse put upon him and he remembers nothing about Feng Jie, the wind spirit that tried to help him and his uncle across the desert. When Jie, the reformed and transformed ex-wind spirit finally finds Zuko with the Avatar and his friends, she keeps herself from tearing him apart out of love and the shock of seeing another airbender. However, because he remembers nothing about her, tension builds as Jie fights with the realization that she and Aang are the only airbenders left, and the frustration of loving someone who doesn't love you back. What's worse, Aang's fight to destroy the Firelord is nearing, and Jie realizes that he hasn't completely become an airbending master yet. Can Jie make Zuko remember again, and will she have the strength to lend in the Avatar's campaign?


End file.
